Examination For US History, 1920-1980s

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question. The best answer is marked with an *.

1. The American isolationists of the early 1930s:
(1) were generally favorable to the fascists.
(2) discounted the investigations of Senator Gerald P. Nye.
(3) felt that U.S. involvement in World War I had been a mistake.*

2. After the outbreak of war between the United States and Japan in 1941:
(1) the civil rights of German-Americans and Italian-Americans were restricted, as were those of Japanese
Americans, because Germany and Italy were allied with Japan.
(2) the U.S. government carefully protected the civil rights of Japanese living in the United States.
(3) the United States forced most Japanese in the United States to move to internment camps.*

3. As a result of defense spending in the 1950s, all of the following occurred EXCEPT:
(1) most citizens protested the huge expenditures.*
(2) business-government ties grew stronger.
(3) half the federal budget went to the armed forces.

4. During the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, corporate development in the United States:
(1) declined in importance economically.
(2) was characterized by increasing concentration of control.*
(3) was discouraged by government policy.

5. Allied strategists in World War II decided:
(1) to concentrate their forces against the Germans first.*
(2) to concentrate their forces against Japan before challenging the Germans.
(3) there was little possibility that Germany might invade Great Britain.

6) During the Eisenhower administration, an important factor in promoting the material development of
the United States was:
(1) a population shift away from suburban areas.
(2) less corporate control of the American economy.
(3) construction of the interstate highway system.*

7) During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt made political decisions based on military
expediency, which meant that he would probably:
(1) agree to whatever seemed most likely to help end the war quickly.*
(2) oppose military cooperation with the Soviet Union.
(3) stand on principle regardless of the consequences.

8) By 1960, a majority of all American families:
(1) had made few gains from the Depression years.
(2) had little extra spending money.
(3) could attain a middle-class life style.*

9) At the Yalta Conference, held in February 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt:
(1) sought Soviet help in ending the war in the Pacific.*
(2) refused to agree that the Soviets could annex the Kurile Islands.
(3) insisted on excluding the British from participating in the negotiations.

10) Roosevelt's political decisions regarding the war:
(1) were dictated by his desire to win.*
(2) often differentiated between "good" and "bad" governments.
(3) were supported by American liberals.

11) Black American soldiers during World War II:
(1) served in integrated units.
(2) often recognized the paradox of fighting for freedom when they enjoyed little freedom in the United
States.*
(3) faced little prejudice from white soldiers, unlike in World War I.

12) Navajo Indian soldiers during World War II made excellent members of the Signal Corps because:
(1) the Navajos could learn Japanese more easily than other Americans.
(2) they were particularly talented in using electronic equipment.
(3) the Japanese had difficulty understanding the Navajo's native language. *

13) In its impact on American society, World War II:
(1) decreased the mobility of the American people.
(2) required few adjustments in American family life.
(3) increased the mobility of the American people.*

14) World War II officially began with:
(1) the sinking of the Bismarck.
(2) the bombing of Great Britain.
(3) the invasion of Poland.*

15) Franklin Roosevelt's decision to change America's foreign policy during the 1930s was based on:
(1) his realization that the New Deal had failed.
(2) his irritation with the isolationists.
(3) the aggression by certain European countries.*

16) The U.S. Congress responded to developments in Europe between 1933 and 1937 by:
(1) declaring war on Germany.
(2) providing military aid to England.
(3) passing a series of neutrality acts.*

17) In America during World War II, generally:
(1) the government found it difficult to promote support for the war effort.
(2) people of all ages joined in supporting the war effort.*
(3) there was little sense of involvement in the war effort because none of the fighting occurred in the
United States.

18) By 1956, the majority of workers in the United States:
(1) held white-collar jobs.*
(2) worked in factories.
(3) were engaged in agricultural pursuits.

19) These areas benefited the most from the military expenditures of the 1950s and 1960s:
(1) New England and the Midwest.
(2) the Pacific Coast and the West.*
(3) the mid and Deep South.

20) Economic growth in the United States during the post-World War II years favored:
(1) the American lower class.
(2) the American middle class.*
(3) rural America.

21) At the end of World War II, American policymakers generally envisioned a world:
(1) dominated by the Soviet Union.
(2) secure for American trade.*
(3) from which the United States could isolate itself.

22) After World War II, the Soviet Union:
(1) aggressively pursued a policy of world revolution.
(2) felt little effect from the war.
(3) was determined to have a buffer zone for protection of its western border.*

23) In comparison to his predecessors, Dwight Eisenhower.
(1) was abrupt and aggressive in his actions.
(2) had difficulty in getting people to work for him.
(3) had limited experience with everyday politics.*

24) The containment policy of the Truman administration:
(1) fostered stronger relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
(2) became the basis for American foreign policy in the post-World War II period.*
(3) had little support from policymakers in Washington.

25) One effect of the Cold War was:
(1) to create a strong resistance to military pacts in the Senate.
(2) strong support for closer ties with the Soviet Union.
(3) to commit the United States to involvement in European affairs.*

26) In his negotiations with the Soviets concerning the post war government in Poland, President
Truman:
(1) indicated a willingness to compromise on the issue.*
(2) agreed to the establishment of a communist-controlled government there.
(3) refused to discuss the matter with Stalin at the Potsdam conference.

27) The policy of massive retaliation:
(1) allowed for mediation during international crises.
(2) had little effect on Cold War policies.
(3) stressed conventional forms of defense.
(4) relied solely on the threat to use nuclear weapons.*

28) By 1960, most Americans tended to believe that the federal government should:
(1) radically reduce defense spending.
(2) assume an active role in providing welfare benefits for the people.*
(3) reduce its commitment to social welfare programs.
(4) abandon the philosophy on which the New Deal and Fair Deal had been based.

29) When President Eisenhower left the presidency in 1961, he:
(1) had endorsed the fundamental features of the welfare state.*
(2) had been unable to reduce the role of government in the economy at all.
(3) had managed to sell the Tennessee Valley Authority to private interests.
(4) was extremely unpopular with most Americans.

30) In Eisenhower's perception of the function of the government,:
(1) the role of the president should be expanded.
(2) the government should promote conservative fiscal policies.*
(3) the size of the federal government should continue to grow to meet the needs of the nation.
(4) economic activism was an important role for the government.

31) In terms of economic goals during this administration, President Truman attempted to:
(1) resist the liberal policies of the Republicans.
(2) restrict the policies of the New Deal.
(3) guarantee full employment through government action.*
(4) reduce government interference in the economy.

32) One of Lyndon Johnson's major goals as president was to:
(1) reduce government involvement in the economy.
(2) secure the foundation of the welfare state.*
(3) lessen the power of the executive in the political process.
(4) slow down the pace of the civil rights movement.

33) A major factor that contributed to Lyndon Johnson's inability to implement his domestic program fully
was:
(1) his attempt to pursue both his domestic policies and the Vietnam War.*
(2) the civil rights movement.
(3) an inactive Congress.
(4) his defeat of Goldwater in the election of 1964.

34) In his attempt to bring the American people together, President Nixon emphasized:
(1) law and order issues.*
(2) economic reform.
(3) cold war containment.
(4) minority rights.

35) As president, Reagan suffered from charges of:
(1) lying about the invasion of Grenada.
(2) "sleaze" in his administration.*
(3) ostentatious living.
(4) projecting a poor image on television.

36) In comparing the Nixon and Ford presidencies, one could say that:
(1) both had popular mandates supporting their policies.
(2) both had little experience with the reins of power in Washington.
(3) Ford believed in less presidential involvement.*
(4) Nixon was much abler in developing a personable administration.

37) As a result of Ronald Reagan's election to the presidency in 1980:
(1) the Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives.
(2) an inexperienced politician came into the White House.
(3) New Deal liberalism gained a supporter in the White House.
(4) the Republicans gained control of the Senate.*

39) According to supply-side economic theory:
(1) conservation of natural resources is the key to long-term economic health.
(2) the national debt should be continued indefinitely.
(3) reduction of taxes will encourage business expansion, which will ultimately stimulate the whole
economic system.*
(4) the nation's most important resource is its people.

41) The administration of Ronald Reagan was characterized by:
(1) a reduction in federal taxation.
(2) high ethical and moral standards among his appointees to federal office.
(3) a decline in military spending.
(4) increasing hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union.*

42) The tax cuts of the 1980s:
(1) helped many poor families join the middle class.
(2) benefitted the wealthy far more than middle- or lower-income Americans.*
(3) were accompanied by increased regulation of the insurance industry.
(4) favored the middle class more than the rich.

43) One of the chief goals of the Reagan administration was to:
(1) reduce tensions with the Soviet Union.
(2) dismantle the welfare state.*
(3) aggressively defend minority rights.
(4) increase aid to the poor.

44) When James Meredith applied for admission to the University of Mississippi in 1962:
(1) the Supreme Court refused to support Meredith's admission.
(2) the state's governor supported his right to attend the university.
(3) riots resulted.*
(4) blacks decided to boycott the bus system in Oxford, Mississippi.

46) During the 1960s and 1970s, the women's movement in the United States:
(1) opposed the Equal Rights Amendment.
(2) found little support for their cause.
(3) was internally divided.*
(4) became greatly unified.

47. Eisenhower's second presidential term was marked by:
(1) a serious economic recession. *
(2) the end of the Korean War.
(3) his endorsement of Richard Nixon.

49. In the 1950s, rock'n'roll became the nation's most popular form of music because:
(1) people were tired of the Vietnam War.
(2) it was a sophisticated musical genre.
(3) teenagers had lots of money to spend.*

50. The goal of the followers of Joe McCarthy was to
(1) create Republican majorities in Congress.
(2) protect the United States from a Soviet invasion.
(3) make everyone believe as they did.*

51 The goal of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s was to make the U.S. more:
(1) democratic.*
(2) socialist.
(3) segregated.

59. In dealing with the Great Depression, Hoover
(1) did nothing to end it.
(2) adopted a mild interventionist policy.*
(3) blamed his Democratic predecessors.

60. Hoover believed that federal government aid to which group would end its commitment to capitalism?
(1) corporations.
(2) farmers.
(3) poor.*

61. Which President blamed international factors for the Great Depression?
(1) Coolidge.
(2) Roosevelt.
(3) Hoover.*

62. Which of the following is the coalition out together by FDR to create the New Deal?
(1) northern urban Jews and Catholics and white Protestants of the rural and small-town South.*
(2) New England farmers and California defense workers.
(3) Southern blacks and Midwestern farmers.

64. The New Deal represented a major turning point in U.S. history because it was the first time the
national government
(1) aided private business.
(2) assumed responsibility for the well-being of the average citizen.*
(3) aided farmers.

65. The basic cause of the Great Depression was:
(1) serious inequality in income distribution.*
(2) the financial of the Federal Reserve System.
(3) the election of Hoover.

66. The goal of the Neutrality Acts of the 1930s as to:
(1) get the U.S. involved in WWII.
(2) keep the U.S. out of WWII. *
(3) insure the victory of the Italians and Germans.

67. Compared to Franklin Roosevelt, the Congress elected in 1936 was more
(1) fascist.
(2) conservative.
(3) liberal.*

68. The U.S. attitude towards the United Kingdom in the period 1939-1941 was:
(1) strictly neutral.
(2) pro-British.*
(3) pro-German.

69. The U..S. entered WWII because:
(1) the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.*
(2) Roosevelt liked British tea.
(3) it was a Communist conspiracy.

70. Most of the fighting in the European theater of WWII was done by the:
(1) U.S.
(2) U.S.S.R.*
(3) British.

71. In WWII, the U.S. was superior in which of the following?
(1) its industrial power. *
(2) Jet airplanes.
(3) early involvement.

72. The Great Alliance of WWII began showing signs of strain by the time of the
(1) Yalta Conference.*
(2) Teheran Conference.
(3) nuclear

73. The chief dispute between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. between 1945 and 1949 was over
(1.) Poland.
(2) the Kurile islands.
(3) Germany.*

74. The name for the principal U.S. policy towards the U.S.S.R. in the post-WWII period was
(1) containment.*
(2) appeasement.
(3) peaceful coexistence.

75. The Fair Deal was a plan to
(1) increase equality in the U.S.*
(2) aid to Greece and Turkey.
(3) aid to large corporations.

76. The Korean War began when
(1) Chinese troops invaded North Korea.
(2) South Korean troops invaded Taiwan.
(3) North Korean troops invaded South Korea.*

77. In the 1945-1960 period, most of the federal budget was spent for
(1) domestic programs.
(2) foreign aid.
(3) warfare--past, present, and future.*

78. Richard Nixon won a U.S. Senate seat in 1950 by
(1) promising to further the New Deal
(2) falsely accusing his opponent of being "soft on Communism"*
(3) beating Joe McCarthy.

79. When the Republicans came to power, in 1953, they
(1) repealed much of the New Deal.
(2) passed moderate reform measures *
(3) repudiated Joe McCarthy.

80. In terms of economic recessions, under Eisenhower there were
(1) none
(2) three *
(3) both of the above

81. In the doctrine of "massive retaliation" Secretary of State Dulles believed that
(1) the U.S.S.R. would win
(2) the U.S. would win*
(3) war was unthinkable in the nuclear age.

82. Which of the following wanted to intervene militarily in Indochina in 1954?
(1) Eisenhower
(2) Nixon*
(3) Fordyce